Steam-trap



(No Model.)

GMoGRAGKBN.

STEAM TRAPlv No. 295,573. Patented Mar. 25, 1884;

IIIE l www m w `quickly adjusted or fitted, s

NITE 4STATES FATENr Erice.

STEAM-TRAP.

SPECIPICATION'forming part of Letters Patent No. 295,573, dated March 25, 1884.

I Application filed August 27, 1883. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern,.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE B. MCCEACKEN, of Villimantia county of VVindhannand State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful ImprovementsinSteam-Traps, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the acconr panying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

My invention has relation to that class of steam-traps ordinarily known as expansiontraps,77 wherein the outlet is governed or regulated by the expansion and contraction of an inner tube in excess of an outer tube, caused by the difference in the temperature of the two tubes, the operation being such as to permit water to escape, but to check the escape of steam.

The objects of my present invention are to so construct the seat for the lower end of the inner expansion-tube that it may be easily and as to insure perfect contact with the'lower end of said tube,

or the tting thereon be permitted to expand under the pressure produced upon it without danger of destroying its usefulness, and be reversible, so as to afford ready means for supplying a new seat, when required; to provide the lower vend of the` expansiontube with a ber.

bearing-piece so constructed as to afford a1-A ways a free and clear escape-passage between it and the seat therefor, which passage will not be liable to become clogged by foreign matters; to provide a simple, efficient, and durable form of packing for the inner expansion-tube; to provide a strainer upon the inlet end of the expansion-tube, to prevent admission of foreign matters thereto, and to provide a simple` and efficient means for clearing out or blowing out the separating-cham- To accomplish all of this my improve- "ments involve certain novel and useful peculiarities of construction, relative arrangements or combinations of parts, and principles of operation, all of which will be herein iirst -fully described, and then pointed out in the claims.

To illustrate my invention, I have shown my improvements applied upon a trapsimilar in general form to that described in my patent of May 8, 1883. Upon consideration of the particular improvements below described it will appear that they are also applicable upon other forms of expansion-traps.

In the accompanying` drawings, forming part of this specification, Figure 1 is avertical section and elevation of an expansion-trap constructed and arranged for operation in accordance with my invention, and embodying the principles thereof, a portion being broken out to facilitate illustration. Fig. 2 is an elevation on a smallerscale thanFig. I, showing, in addition to Fig. l, exterior ribs, which may be applied, if desired. Fig. 3 represents a plan and section of one of the removable softmetal disks; Fig. 4, van elevation and plan of the reversible carrier employed for holding the seats; Fig. 5, a plan of the top, side elevation, and plan of the bottom of the removable fitting or plug applied upon the lower end of the expansion-tube. j Fig 6 is a sectional elevation of the lower end of showing the iitting screwed into the interior thereof. Fig. 7 is asimilar view, wherein the screw-threads are omitted and the fitting inserted without them, being held in place by friction against'theinner surface; and Fig'. 8 is a sectional elevation of the improved form of packing-gasket applied between the inner and outer tubes.

In all these figures like letters of reference, wherever they occur, indicate corresponding parts.

A is the outside tube or body of the trap, which may or may not be provided with ribs B, as shown in Fig. 2. Upon the upper part of this tube is secured the separating-chamber C, having "the inlet c, and connecting with chamber O is the inner expansion-tube, D, which extends down to the outletsection of the apparatus. E is the outlet from the trap.

In the lower end of tube A is secured the block or holder F, 4which has a cavity for the' reception of the seat-disks G G and their carrier H. Through this block the adjusting-V screw I projects, the same being provided with any suitable ja1n-nut, as K, by which it is held in place after adjustment, and withv a protecting-cap, L, to prevent accidental or unauthorized manipulation.

The carrier II is made of brass or any comthe expansion-tube,

IOO

position sufficiently hard, its central cylindrithe expansion-tube.

2 Y K Y 295,573

top and bottom being turned to receive the seat-disks. The seat-disks G G are centrally perforated to nt upon the projections b'b, and they are made slightly conical and somewhat yless in diameter than the cavity in the block or holder F. These disks are of soft metal, so that in being pressed upon by the lower end of the expansion-tube all the wear will come upon them, and so that they Will insure a perfectly-tight joint. After long use, the disks will be compressed and their upper faces cX- panded or upset; and by making these disks conical, as shown, room for this expansion is provided between the disks and the Wall of the cavity in the block F, so that the disks cannot become wedged, and are always free to be adjusted by use of the adj usting-screw. The upper end of the block vF is turned off accurately at right angles to its axis, and being of harder material than the disks, will serve as a guide for filing them down to level their faces, so that they may be accurately fitted when required vafter wear. Should one disk become unserviceable for any reason, the carrier has only to be inverted in its seat in the holder to bring a new disk into position for immediate operation, and this can be very quickly accomplished by simply removing the holder F and turning the carrier therein. The advantages of this construction will be readily apparent.

In this class of traps it is found that minute particles of scale and other foreign matter sometimes become lodged between the seatdisk and the end of the expansion-tube, preventing accurate contact all around and interfering with the uniform passage of liquid, causing it to cut channels in the seat and otherwise to prevent the desirable sensitive and accurate operations of the trap. To obviatc all this, I provide the bearing end of the eXpansion-tube with two independent bearingsur faces for contact with the seat-disk, and these are made as follows: In one form, Figs. 1 and 5, a plug, T, is screwed into the lower end of This plug is centrally perforated, to permit the outward flow of liquid, and is formed at bottom with two concentric rings or ledges, d e, leaving an annular space between them. For convenience of inserting this plug, the upper part of the central perforation, f, is made square or angular, for the reception of any suitable implement by which it may be easily seated. In the second form (represented in Fig. 6) the plug T enters farther into the lower intcriorly threaded end of the eXpansiontube, the other ring for bearing upon the seat-disk being formed by the expansion-tube itself; and in the third form the screw-thread is omitted and the plug simply driven to place.. In each of these forms the principle is the same. The interior ring is preferably made thicker than the outer ring,

so as to nearly equalize the area of bearingsurface of the two upon the seat-disk. Any scales or particles which find their way to the seat are caught and retained by the inner ring, and by that ring may be compressed into the soft met-al of the seat-disk, and t-he `fluid or liquid passing this inner ring and interrupted by such particles will, before its final escape from beneath the expansion-tube, expand so as to completely fill the opening between the outer ledge and the disk, and thus escape in a free and uninterrupted current all around. The outer ledge will always make a tight seat upon the disk, whether the inner ledge be obstructed or not, and thus the steam will be effectually trapped. The plugis made/of hard metal, and in the second and third forms it is preferably a little harder than the expansion-tube, so that the inner ledge or ring will be not only thicker but harder than the other one.

Around the lower part of the expansiontube is the packing-gasket M, screwed into a threaded ledge on the interior of tube A, fitting the expansion-tube closely, and operating.

to divide the interior of the outer tube into two chambers, and to prevent communication between the two. This gasket, as shown, is, for a portion of its length, reamed out, leaving the upper and lower parts thereof connected by a narrow neck, and around the bottom of the gasket is a considerable space or channel between it and the tube A, the purpose of all of which is to permit the gasket to expand and contract with the expansion-tube without interfering with the longitudinal expansion and contraction of said tube, and always preserving a tight joint therewith. This construction is simple, cheap, and efficient, besides which it affords an accurate guide or steadiment for the expansion-tube, insuring its proper contact with the seat-disk. The expansion-tube is extended up into the separating-chamber, and provided with a series of perforations, a a, above the bottom of said chamber, the purpose of which is to form a strainer to prevent foreign matters from -passing down the eXpansion-tube. The top of the tube is closed in any suitable manner, as by the plug b.

To clear the separating-chamber of any accumulations therein, I connect it with the drain or outlet pipe N, through the medium of a tube, O, on which is any suitable valve, as P. Steam being admitted to the trap, upon opening valve l? a current is produced through the expansion-chamber, which will effectually clear it out, after which the valve should be closed. The connecting-tube may be omitted, however, and the matter simply blown out through an opening in the wall of the chamber, which opening may be stopped by any ordi nary plug. When steam and water enter the separating-chamber, the water finds its way down through the expansion-tube, .and out at the outlet, and when the water has passed out the steam enters, which, being more highly heated, causes the further expansion of the expansion-tube to such a degree as to' force `its lower-end, or the fitting thereon, into steam-tight contact with the seat-disk, and

IOO

IIO

when this contact occurs the steam will be eft'ectually trapped. I ind it advantageous to supply the upper end of the tube A with a globular enlargement or chamber, as lwhich assists to render greaterthe difference in elonga tion of the inner and outer tubes under the effects of heat; but this globe may be omitted, if desired. rIhe improvements above described are found, in practice, to admirably answer the purposes or objects of the invention, as previously set forth.

Having now fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is i.

l. In a steam-trap of the character herein set forth, the seat-disk carrier provided with the two disks, and made reversible in its holder, substantially as and for the purposes set forth. p

2. The `herein described seatdisk, made conical, and arranged in the holder, substantially as explained, so as to leave Aa space between the two, for the purposes` and objects set forth.

3. In a steam-trap of the character herein set forth, the discharge end of the expansiontube, having the two independent ledges or rings, with the annular space between them, for contact with the seat-disk, substantially as shown and described.

4. In a steam-trap, the packing-gasket combined with the inner and outer tubes, the same being reamed out at top, having a narrow connecting neck between its upper and lower parts, and arranged to expand and contract with the inner tube, and to prevent communii cation between the two compartments into which it divides the outer tube, substantially as shown and described.

5. In a steam-trap, theA outer tube provided with the separating-chamber, the expansiontube extending up into said separating-chamber. and being perforated, as explained, the packing-gasket surrounding the lower end of the expansion-tube, and preventing communication between the compartments above and below it, and avalve or cut-off operated by the expansion-tube, all combined and arranged substantially as shown and described.

6. In a steam-trap of the character herein set forth, the combination of the expansiontube, outer tube, packing-gasket, separatingchamber, cut-off operated by the, expansiontube, and the blow-oft' pipe provided with a valve and connecting the discharge-pipe and separatingchamber, substantially as shown and described.

In testimony thatf I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE B. MCGRA'GKEN.

f Witnesses: V

J AMns WALDEN, EDWARD J. MURRAY. 

